--- title: "Weekly Now: Surprise! Projects Get More Efficient Amid Pandemic" id: "52115" type: "post" slug: "weekly-now-surprise-projects-get-more-efficient-amid-pandemic" published_at: "2021-03-29T22:05:48+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-17T04:42:40+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/03/29/weekly-now-surprise-projects-get-more-efficient-amid-pandemic/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/03/29/weekly-now-surprise-projects-get-more-efficient-amid-pandemic.md" excerpt: "The Project Management Institute reports that organizations have been more likely to meet their business goals and reduce waste with projects during the pandemic, despite remote operations. Also: Roller coasters need pandemic precautions, too." taxonomy_category: - "Organizational Strategy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "organization strategy" - "Project Management" - "toilet efficiency" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Weekly Now: Surprise! Projects Get More Efficient Amid Pandemic Despite the challenges of the past year, there’s an unexpected benefit: Many organizations have implemented big projects successfully and with surprising efficiency, a recent report suggests. According to the latest version of the [Pulse of the Profession report (opens in a new tab)](https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/beyond-agility-gymnastic-enterprises-12973) by the Project Management Institute (PMI), nearly three quarters of organizations (73 percent) met their business goals with their most recent projects, an increase from the prior year (69 percent). Projects were also more likely to be on budget and on time, leading to less wasted investment overall—waste fell from 11.4 percent to 9.4 percent. Perhaps the secret to the success of these projects is that project managers were less boxed in. Nearly a third reported using all available means to complete a project—a characteristic of what PMI called “gymnastic enterprises.” “By enabling employees to work smarter, elevating power skills, and building business acumen, gymnastic organizations are delivering financial and societal value regardless of the challenges placed before them,” PMI Chief Operating Officer Mike DePrisco [said in a news release (opens in a new tab)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005712/en/PMI-Pulse-of-the-Profession%C2%AE-2021-Report-Uncovers-Benefits-of-Organizational-Agility-During-Times-of-Great-Change) . Other recent headlines: **Limiting roller-coaster-related COVID-19 risks.** Here’s one factor you probably didn’t consider about the reopening of theme parks: Screaming, a common result of enjoying theme park thrills, has the potential to spread COVID-19. As Southern California theme parks look to reopen as soon as next month, the California Attractions and Parks Association [is calling on parks (opens in a new tab)](https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/03/19/screaming-california-theme-park-rides/) to require riders to wear masks, or for rides to space people farther apart, so that when the inevitable shouting happens, it doesn’t become a vector of viral spread. **Insurance brokers group is ready to loosen up.** [FN reports (opens in a new tab)](https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/ban-stuffy-dress-codes-and-mandatory-face-to-face-rules-for-lloyds-brokers-20210326) that the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association, which represents brokers who work out of the Lloyd’s of London insurance market in London, are recommending that “stuffy dress codes” (i.e., suit requirements) be retired in favor of a more flexible style that professionals have enjoyed while working remotely. “We envisage a world where face-to-face meetings continue to be at the core of how London distinguishes itself from the competition, albeit in a more flexible environment with slightly less focus on EC3,” said the association’s CEO, Christopher Croft, referring to the market’s iconic postcode. ### Don’t Get Complacent > One year of pandemic and six more questions for association decision-makers | by [@dutyofforesight (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/dutyofforesight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [https://t.co/Ac4oNc8bfg (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/Ac4oNc8bfg) > [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [pic.twitter.com/7rgWy3uReu (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/7rgWy3uReu) > > — Deirdre Reid, CAE (@DeirdreReid) [March 24, 2021 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/DeirdreReid/status/1374756907425136642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **T****he anniversary of the U.S. lockdowns** brings an opportunity to think about what needs to change about associations’ decision-making processes. Jeff De Cagna, a longtime association consultant who urges association leaders to embrace a future-focused mindset, offered a list of six questions they should consider as they take their next step forward. “There is good reason to be worried about where we are headed and yet, at this moment, our greater concern should be that we will not resist the emerging temptation of a false normalcy and make a hard turn back toward the pre-2020 complacency that exacerbated the pandemic’s detrimental impact,” he writes. [Check out his post on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-year-pandemic-six-more-questions-association-jeff/) for more details. ### ICYMI … **Is your association ready** to manage messaging when a crisis emerges? A communication expert [suggests a strategy](https://associationsnow.com/2021/03/is-your-association-ready-to-issue-statements-and-handle-other-crisis-communication/) for doing so. **If you’re challenged to understand SEO,** check out [this advice](https://associationsnow.com/2021/03/five-things-associations-should-know-about-seo-today/) . **Creative note-taking.** Feel like your handwritten notes are a little dull? Take inspiration from fellow association execs [who shared some of their note-taking methods](https://associationsnow.com/2021/03/we-asked-you-answered-note-taking-strategies/) , complete with photos. (anyaberkut/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#organization strategy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organization-strategy/) [#Project Management](https://associationsnow.com/tag/project-management/) [#toilet efficiency](https://associationsnow.com/tag/toilet-efficiency/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoChallenge Legacy Mindsets at MMC+TechApril 17, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/04/17/challenge-legacy-mindsets-at-mmctech/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2021%2F03%2F29%2Fweekly-now-surprise-projects-get-more-efficient-amid-pandemic%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !